


As Bright as the Sun

by Katniss239



Category: Reign of Fire (2002), The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Comfort, Dwarf Courting, Dwarf Culture & Customs, F/M, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Hurt, Similarities, lots of fluff, may add more later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-26
Updated: 2013-11-29
Packaged: 2018-01-02 17:59:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1059832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katniss239/pseuds/Katniss239
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As Diana Abercromby, daughter of Quinn Abercromby, returns to the community after going into the fields to harvest, a dragon flies in on the community. In the chaos, Diana is seperated from the rest of her group. Burned, hurt and alone, she takes shelter in a cave, where she is transported to Middle Earth. There, she will join the journey to the Lonely Mountain...and even win the heart of a certain young prince.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The only sound that Diana heard for a long while was the rumble of the truck. She felt her mouth water at the sight of the vineyard just a short distance ahead.

They were the first of the harvesting teams to be sent out.

As Sterling slowly eased the truck to a stop, Diana sat poised to spring, and vaulted out of the truck as soon as it was stopped. The first tomato she got her hands on, she took an enormous bite out of. She groaned at the delicious taste, the feel of the cold juices sliding down her throat. Once she had eaten that, she started picking more and placing them in the basket she was carrying. She regularly rotated her gaze between the plants and the sky.

They had to be quick, or else risk being caught out in the open.

She moved swiftly through the vineyard, picking tomato after bright red tomato, and nothing else. She froze when she felt it, a breeze stirring the hood of her cloak.

She looked up to the sky to see the messanger hawk flying low overhead.

The hawk gave a piercing cry, circled, and left.

The silence it left behind was so thick, she could have heard a butterfly's wingbeats. The hair on the back of her neck rose, and the color drained from her face. She jumped when a firm hand grasped her shoulder, then relaxed when she saw it was only Liam. "Do you feel that?" The brunette whispered.

Both of them stood still, and sure enough, Diana felt it; a rising heat in the air. "They're coming." She whispered.

"We need to find the others." Said Liam. "We need to go. Now!" Still holding her hand, Liam and Diana ran off into the vineyard to find the others. "Sterling?" Liam shouted. "Anne? Alex?" Sure enough, the brother and sister Anne and Alex appeared around the corner.

"We need to get out of here." said Diana. "Dragons." The four of them wove their way through the vineyard back to the truck, sure enough, Sterling was waiting in the driver's seat. "Come on!" He hollered. "Hurry!" But they barely got five feet before the vineyard to their left erupted into flames.

Diana looked up to see a huge black shape sailing low overhead.

They didn't need anymore encouragement.

Running faster than they'd ever run before, they vaulted into the truck, and it roared into life. Diana screamed and clapped her hands over her ears as a piercing shriek tore through the air. Sterling slammed on the gas pedal, and the truck ped away down the road.

Everything was erupting into flames around them, and Diana was sure she'd go stark-raving mad very soon if that dragon didn't stop screaming.

They didn't have time to react before a huge, club-like tail swung down at them.

It caved in the hood of the truck, and caused it to go careening forward.

Diana's whole world was cart-wheeling in front of her before the truck landed upside down. With her ears ringing and her head spinning, Diana cut herself free of the seatbelt and crawled out. She looked up to see the dragon hovering low. Her hands shaking with panic, she seized a gun and a box of amo, and ran. She ran faster than she'd ever run in her life, tearing through the vineyard and into the hills beyond.

She heard the dragon scream behind her.

Cursing her small form, she ran faster.

Her lungs were burning and her limbs were screaming for a reprieve, but she didn't stop.

She tore up the scrched earth as she ran.

She nearly screamed in relief when she saw a small entrance to a cave.

If she wasn't looking for some form of escape, she would never have noticed it.

As she neared the cave, A blast of fire came forth, grazing her midsection and hip. She howled as her feet collapsed out from under her. _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_ she scolded herself. Keep an eye on the sky! Always keep an eye on the bloody sky! Scrambling desperately, she hauled herself through the narrow cave entrance.

She yelped when the floor suddenly vanished underneath her and she slid down a steep slope.

When she finally stopped rolling, she took a moment to relax and catch her breath.

She looked up to the narrow opening and the slim light it let in.

Grunting, she rolled onto her side to look at herself. She was burned far worse than she had originally thought. Her hands were cut and bleeding from her desperate flight, and judging by the stinging on her face, she guessed that her face was bleeding as well.

Her breathing sped up as the adrenaline she had felt earlier faded, replaced by a blinding, white-hot agony. Her eyes grew wide, and she clapped her hands over her mouth to muffle her scream. Tears were stinging her eyes, the ringing in her ears grew louder, and her vision was beginning to swirl.

The last things she recalled before surrenduring to complete and total exhaustion were broad callused hands gently cradling her head and a deep baritone voice speaking softly to her.


	2. Chapter 2

"The Dawn will take you all!"

With a powerful downward thrust of his staff, Gandalf split the boulder in two, flooding the small glade with sunlight. The trolls howled and screamed as they were turned to stone. There was a moment's pause once the trolls were still before the dwarves cheered for their rescuer.

Gandalf came down after a few moments and set about getting the dwarves on the ground out of their sacks.

Once that was done, the dwarves on the spit were helped down to the ground.

As everyone gathered up their things, Gandalf walked over to the stone trolls. He gave a satisfied smirk and tapped one of the trolls with his staff with a dull _conk._

"Where did you go to, if I may ask?" Thorin asked as he walked up to the wizard.

"To look ahead." Gandalf replied.

"What brought you back?" Thorin added.

"Looking behind." Gandalf responded. Thorin nodded and glanced briefly at the ground. "Nasty business," Gandalf continued, "still, though, all in one piece."

"No thanks to your burglar." Thorin said.

"He had the nouse to play for time." Gandalf responded. "None of the rest of you thought of that." The dark look from Thorin made the wizard change the subject. "They must have come down from the Ettenmoors."

"Since when to mountain trolls venture this far south?" Thorin inquired.

"Oh, not for an age." Gandalf told him. "Not since a darker power ruled these lands..." The two of them locked eyes for a brief moment. They both knew what Gandalf was suggesting, and it made both their blood grow cold to think of it. To draw their attention away from such dark thoughts, Gandalf changed the subject again. "They could not have moved in daylight."

"There must be a cave nearby." Thorin proclaimed. He called for his company to gather to him.

They searched for about an hour before they finally found the cave entrace sloping downwards beneath a rocky overhang.

The entrance was littered with bones and swarming with flies.

The stench was horrid, and it didn't take long for the dwarves to start complaining. "Oh, what's that stench?" exclaimed Nori.

"It's a troll hoard." Gandalf replied. "Be careful what you touch." Gandalf and Thorin lead the way into the hoard since they held the lights. Thorin came before a rack of swords and took a good look at them. He pulled out two in particular that caught his eye. "These swords were not made by any troll." He murmured. He glanced at Gandalf standing beside him and handed the wizard one of the swords.

"Nor were they made by any smith among men." Gandalf added. He drew the sword partially from it's sheath and blew on it softly. "These were forged in Gondolin, by the high elves of the First Age." exclaimed the wizard. Thorin frowned at this, and made to put his sword back. Gandalf stopped him in his tracks by proclaiming. "You could not wish for a finer blade!" Thorin paused before he drew the sword almost completely out, and took a moment to admire the curved blade and the intricate carvings. A muffled cry from further back caught his attention. It came from the part of the cave that sunlight didn't reach. All the dwarves stood up, curiously looking in the direction the sound had come from. "Stay here." Thorin ordered. He handed the elvish sword to Dwalin and drew the sword at his waist. Tightly gripping both the torch and his sword, Thorin slowly walked step by step into the shadowed part of the cave.

Slowly, a figure began to materialize out of the darkness. Thorin estimated it was another dwarf, based in the size, and, judging from the slimmess, he guessed this person to be a woman. When the person was fully in the light of his torch, he gasped and dropped to his knees beside her. Her clothes were little more than torn rags, and her body was a patchwork of soot, ash, burns and gashes. He cupped her head in his hands and brought her mouth up to his ear to listen. It was feint, but she was still breathing. He pressed and ear to her chest, and was thankful when he heard her heart. Resheathing his sword, Thorin picked the girl up. "OIN!" he roared, rushing the unconcious girl out of the cave and into daylight.

The now curious company gathered around to see what their king had found.

Thorin laid the girl on the ground as Oin and Gandalf stepped in to tend to her. Out here, in the light, Thorin was able to get a good look at her. She was slender-but well-curved, he'd admit that much. Thorin looked closer. She looked like she hadn't eaten in days. She was very pale, and her long chestnut hair looked in desperate need of a brushing. The burn marks that patched her body made Thorin wince. The eyes of everyone there grew wide as Oin exclaimed suddenly. "By Mahal....these burns were made by dragon fire!" Everyone else looked at Oin as thought he had grown two heads. "I treated plenty of men who had been burned by Smaug when Erebor fell." Oin proclaimed. "I know dragon burns when I see them, and these are definetly dragon burns." Everyone now stared with a new facination and pity at this strange girl. "Try and get some water into her." Gandalf said.

Fili came forth with his water flask. He popped the cork out, and gently poured a light trickle over the girl's lips.

The girl stirred, and her mouth opened to recieve the offered water.

 

 

                        ***

 

Slowly, Diana became aware of soft voices all around her, and a cooling substance being rubbed into her skin that soothed the burns that she had gotten when the fields were set ablaze. She tried to will her body to move as some of the feeling started to return. Broad, callused hands gently clasped her own hands and cradled her head, and she felt wet rags gently cleaning all the cuts and scrapes. A cool trickle of water began to stream over her mouth, and she opened her mouth to let it slide down her throat. It felt so good to taste cold clear water again. When the trickle of water stopped, she moaned and rolled onto her side.

"She's skin and bones!" she heard someone whisper. Slowly, she pried her eyes open.

This was odd.

This earth wasn't blackened and burnt, scorched clean of livng things. No, there was grass growing here- _Grass!_ \- and trees. She took a moment to look around in wonder. Then she noticed the people gathered around her. They were all men, not much taller than she was, very stocky and heavily-built, and they all had some manner of facial hair. A few had beards so long, they reached down to their belts. One of them crouched beside her and placed a broad square hand on her shoulder. He was sporting braided pigtails and a rather bizarre-looking hat.

He held out something to her, and it took a moment before Diana realized it was a chunk of bread,

"Perhaps a little something to eat, lass?" He suggested.

After a brief hesitation, she accepted his offer. She took a small bite of the bread.

Her stomach demanded more, and she swiftly devoured the rest.

There was a brief pause before the hatted man asked. "What's your name, lass?" Diana paused only for a moment before she said. "Diana." There was another pause before she asked. "And you?"

"Bofur, milady, at your service." He replied, smiling warmly. His smile then dissapeared as he said. "If I may ask, how-"

A loud rustling in the bushes and a flock of birds sqwuaking drew everyone's attention. "Something's coming!" one of them shouted.

A tall old man rose to his feet and hollered. "Stay together! Hurry, now! Arm yourselves!"

"Fili, stay with her!" called out a raven-haired man.

"Aye, uncle!" came the response. A blond sporting a complicated braiding style and a braided goatee came up to her. He wrapped one arm around her waist and gently lifted her up. He took hold and one of her arms and put it over his shoulder, and she unconciously gripped the fur collar of his jacket. "Come on, miss." He said with an encouraging smile. "I got ya." Still keeping a tight grip, he half-lead, half-carried her over to where the others were. There was something coming straight at them through the bushes, and it was coming fast.

Diana blinked as a small man on a sled burst out of the bushes, the sled being towed by- _Rabbits? Was that what those were called?_

"Thieves! Fire! Murder!" The man screamed. The sled came to a stop, and he looked around frantically. "Ah, Radagast." said the tall old man with the staff. "It's Radagast the Brown." He stepped closer to the sled and asked. "What on earth are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you, Gandalf." Radagast said. "Something's wrong. Something's _terribly_ wrong!"

"Yes?" Gandalf prompted. Radagast opened and closed his mouth several times, but no words came out. Everyone waited curiously to hear what he had to say. "Just give me a minute..." Radagast said, then sighed in frustration. "Oh, I had the thought and, now i've lost it! It was right there, on the tip of my tongue!" He then stopped, and his speech slurred as he said. "Oh, it's not a thought at all." He opened his mouth wide to reveal a bug on his tongue. "It's just a little-" Gandalf pulled the bug out and set it in Radagast's hand. "-stick insect." Radagast finished.

Diana raised an eyebrow as the two men walked off a short distance to converse in private.

Her legs were beginning to shake, so Fili gently eased her to the ground.

"You alright?" He asked.

When she didn't respond, he grasped her chin between his thumb and forefinger and took a close look at her. "You're starting to get some color back. That's good." He commented. Diana opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by a low, moaning howl echoing through the trees. Everyone immediately tensed. "Was that a wolf?" asked a very small man with a mop of brown curls. "A-are there wolves out there?"

"Wolves?" exclaimed Bofur, gripping his weapon tightly. "No, that is not a wolf."

A twig snapping and a low growling drew everyones' attention, and Diana shouted in surprise as an enormous, dog-like monster bounded down into the alchove. The raven-haired man who had spoken earlier swiftly struck the monster down. Another came charging in from behind. "Kili! Your bow!" Someone shouted. A brunette who Diana guessed to be Kili drew an arrow in his bow and swiftly fired. The monster went tumbling to the ground, and a bald man with a forked beard finished the job with a mighty swing of his hammer. "Warg scouts," the raven man growled as he yanked his sword from the monster's neck, "which means an orc pack is not far behind!"

"Orc pack?" exclaimed the small brunette.

"Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?" Gandalf asked.

"No one." The raven man replied.

" _Who did you tell?"_ Gandalf persisted.

"No one, I swear!" The dedantee replied. "What in Durin's name is going on?"

"You are being hunted." Gandalf proclaimed.

Memories flashed in front of Diana's eyes, and she began to panic. Fili held her close to him, stroking her hair and whispering sweet nothings in her ear. "We have to get out of here." growled the bald man.

"We can't!" another one exclaimed. "We have no ponies! They bolted!"

As everyone pondered over what to do, Radagast proclaimed. "I'll draw them off!"

"These are Gundabad Wargs!" Gandalf protested. "They will out-run you!"

"These are Rusgabel Rabbits!" Radagast responded. "I'd like to see them try.

 

 

         ***

 

 

 

"Thorin, she's in no shape to run!" Bofur hissed, gesturing to where Fili still held Diana close.

"You're right." Thorin responded. He walked over to the two of them and said. "Give her to me, Fili." Fili nodded and gently passed Diana to Thorin. Thorin gently laid her forward in his arms, then lifted her up so she was slung across his shoulders. He had one arm hooked over the crooks of her knees, and the other hooked across her shoulders. To his surprise, she didn't protest being carried like this, only whimpered when he jostled her injuries a bit. When he had her in place across his shoulders, she gripped his jacket for something to hold on to as the group started to move.

They raced out of the treeline and on to the rocks that were scattered in the field like a child's toys.

Gandalf led the way, weaving in among the rocks like a maze.

The company skidded to a stop when Radagast raced right past them, the wargs hot on his heels.

"Stay together!" Gandalf hissed.

"Move!" Thorin barked, and the company ran in the opposite direction.

They stopped when again, Radagast raced past dangerously close to them. The momentum of running made Ori burst out from the group, and Thorin shot out an arm to grab the timid dwarf by the hood of his cloak. "Ori, no!" He shouted. Gandalf motioned for the group to follow, and they did so without a word of protest. All except for Thorin. "Where are you leading us?" He asked. Gandalf didn't respond, only jogged ahead to lead the way, and with a dissatisfied grunt, Thorin followed. As they raced down into a dip in the ground with one temendous boulder at one end, Thorin halted has he saw the wargs closing in. "There's more coming!" Kili screamed.

"Kili! Shoot them!" Thorin roared, passing Diana to Dwalin.

"We're surrounded!" Fili called out as he rushed up beside his brother.

"Where's Gandalf?" Someone shouted.

"He's abandoned us!" Dwalin growled, holding Diana with one hand and one of his axes with the other.

"Hold your ground!" Thorin roared, wipping out his elvish sword.

"Hey, hey, hey! What're you doing?" Dwalin's shout made Thorin look over his shoulder. He could hardly believe his eyes when Diana shoved Dwalin off and stumbled away. She took the long metal tube that was slung over her shoulder in hand, and held it up like Kili held up his bow when he aimed. He flinched when there was a rapid series of loud bangs, and stared as the bodies of several orcs jerked in violent spasms before falling to the ground dead. Diana continued to fire her weapon, with the astonished dwarves staring, until one blast sent her falling backwards. "This way, you fools!" The shout drew everyone's attention to find Gandalf standing in a hidden hole beneath the massive stone. As he dissapeared back inside, Thorin roared. "Come on! Move!"

Bofur rushed over, lifted Diana to her feet, carried her to the hole.

As soon as everyone was inside, a loud horn sounded up above.

They listened to the sound of thundering horse hooves and screaming orcs. Everyone jumped when an orc suddenly came tumbling down into the hole. They breathed a sigh of relief when Gandalf poked it with his staff and confirmed it to be dead. Thorin crouched down and pulled an arrow from it's throat. It was short, jet-black and made of metal. "Elves." He snarled, flinging the arrow to the ground.

"I cannot see where the pathway leads!" Dwalin called from further up the passage. "Do we follow it or no?"

"Follow it of course!" Bofur exclaimed. As the company started following the narrow passage, Bofur hoisted Diana up onto his back and began to piggy-back her through the pathway.

"I think that would be wise." Gandalf said to noo one in particular. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quinn and Creedy find the cave and arrive in Middle Earth. Diana and the dwarves arrive in Rivendell.

Several people gasped as Quinn thrust Sterling hard into the wall. "You are an idiot, do you know that?" Quinn snarled. "You. Are. The. Biggest. Idiot. On. Earth!" He punctuated each word by slamming Sterling hard into the wall, and finished by roaring. "WHERE. IS. MY. CHILD!?" Sterling stared at Quinn with wide eyes and murmured. "I don't know." Quinn bared his teeth and slammed Sterling hard to the floor. Jumping up the steps two by two, he raced out of the castle and into the main yard. Not slowing down for a moment, he raced down to the stables and swiftly saddled his horse. Once the main gate was open, he took off down the road.

"Quinn! _Quinn!_ " Quinn stopped when he heard his name. Sure enough, Creedy came charging down the road on a horse of his own. Creedy stopped beside Quinn and smiled. "You didn't really think i'd let you go alone, did ya?"

"You know, you don't have to come." Quinn told his friend.

"Nonsense." Creedy replied. "I helped raise Diana. Everyone in the community loves her. Everyone wants to see her safe just as much as you do. Like it or not, ya bastard, i'm comin'." Quinn smiled and gave his oldest friend a playful swat. After a brief shoving match, they kicked their horses onward. As they rode through the hills toward the burnt remains of the field. Quinn suddenly stopped. "Woah, woah!" He exclaimed. "You see that?" They looked closer, and sure enough, there was a trail of footprints in the dirt. Almost immediately, Quinn turned his horse and rode in the direction the footprints went. After a few moments, Creedy followed. When Quinn saw the fresh scorchmarks on the ground and the indentation in the dirt where the person had fallen, he felt his heart rattle against his ribcage. They followed the drag marks in the dirt to a narrow cave opening. "It's too small." Quinn said. "We'll have to leave the horses here." The two of them dismounted and crept up to the cave entrance. They stopped, and Quinn pulled out a flare, lit it, and dropped it inside.

The slope was steep, but not very long.

The two men slid down to the cave floor, and Quinn picked up the flare and led the way.

As they neared the other side, sunlight flooded the cave, so Quinn blew the light out.

The two men stared in amazement at all the things stored in the cave; clothes, food, gold, silver, jems, and weapons of every sort. In a last minute thought, they grabbed as many of the weapons in the cave as they could, so they would have something else besides their guns.

The two of them stepped up out of the cave and into the sunlight.

For a long moment, they stood appreciating the sight around them.

Neither of them had seen a forest since before the dragons came.

The spell was broken when Creedy scoffed, tossed his hands in the air, and said. "Now where are we?"

"We're completely lost."

 

***

 

Bofur attempted to keep Diana's spirits up by telling stories as the group slinked through the narrow pathway. It was so narrow, that they had to go single-file, and several times, Bombur had to be pushed through because of his girth. 

Bofur took this opportunity to give her the names of the rest of the company.

His face lit up when she giggled at his stories. He liked to make people laugh.

Finally, the group came out onto a wide plateau that overlooked a valley. Diana felt her mouth fall open at the sight that greeted her. The beautiful structure blending so perfectly in with the nature of this valley didn't even look to be real. It looked like a painting. She stared in wonder as Gandalf proclaimed. "The Valley of Imladris. In the common tongue, it's known by another name."

"Rivendell." Bilbo murmured.

"Here lies the last homely house east of the sea." Gandalf added.

Diana heard Thorin and Gandalf arguing about something, but she wasn't paying attention. She was snapped from her trance when she heard Gandalf say. "If we are to be successful, this will need to be handled with tact, and respect, and no small degree of charm. Which is why you will leave the talking to me." Diana snorted her laughter into Bofur's hat. As the group started to walk down the pathway carved into the cliffs, Bofur gently set her down and asked. "Do you think you can walk on your own now, lass?"

"I think I can." Diana replied.

All the same, Bofur, Fili, Kili and Dwalin stayed close beside her the entire way, as if they expected her to fall at any moment.

They entered Rivendell by crossing a narrow bridge over a running river and passing in between two large stone statues.

They stopped in a wide, circular courtyard with the statues at one end and a flight of stairs at the other.

Diana looked around with eyes wide. There were no words to describe this place. It was that beautiful. "Mithrandir." That single word drew everyones' attention as a tall, dark-haired figure dressed in brown and violet robes came smoothly gliding down the steps. "Ah, Lindir." Gandalf said.

Diana heard Thorin whisper to Dwalin. "Stay sharp."

Lindir said something in a language that the company couldn't understand, and Gandalf said. "I must speak with Lord Elrond."

"My Lord Elrond is not here." Lindir said, looking just the slightest bit smug about it.

"Not here?" Gandalf echoed. "Where is he?"

The blare of a horn answered his question. everyone turned to see a band of riders on horseback swiftly coming closer. "Close ranks!" Thorin shouted. Before Diana could react, she and Bilbo were yanked into the center of a ring of protective dwarves. The riders circled their horses at a trot around the odd little band, staring curiously. The dwarves were growling and holding their weapons up, daring any of the elves to come too close. The elves finally slowed their horses to a stop, and began to dismount and unload all of their things. A man sitting on a horse as black as jet proclaimed. "Gandalf."

"Lord Elrond." Gandalf replied, bowing low. The two of them conversed in some unknown language as Elrond got off his horse. The two men claped each other into a warm hug. "Strange for orcs to come so close to our borders." Elrond commented, glancing briefly at the sword in his hand before handing it to Lindir. "Something, or some _one_ has drawn them near."

"Ah, that may have been us." Gandalf replied. It was then that Elrond turned to face the company, and Thorin stepped forward to meet him. "Welcome Thorin, son of Thrain."

"Let's skip the formalities, _elf._ " Thorin growled, putting about as much venom into that one word as he could. "One of my company is in need of medical attention." During this entire time, Diana had felt a new wave of dizziness wash over her, and she felt as if she would hurl and faint at the same time. As her legs buckled, she grabbed onto Fili's jacket, and the blond dwarf caught her in his arms. She was instantly surrounded by a crowd of concerned dwarves. "Oh damn." Was all she managed to say before she dropped to her knees and relieved the contents of her stomach onto the floor. Gently, Fili took her in his arms and carried her bridal-style over to Lord Elrond. She gave the elf lord an apologetic look, and the elf smiled warmly. He said something that Diana didn't understand, and that seemed to get the dwarves even more angry. "What is he saying?" Gloin snarled. "does he offer us insult?"

"No, Master Gloin, he's offering you food." Gandalf said, rolling his eyes.

As the dwarves followed the elf lord, Lindir led Fili to the healing chambers, where he was instructed to lay Diana on one of the beds. Once that was done, Fili got up and left, but not before giving the elves an iron look that said _hurt her, and you're dead._   


End file.
